Motor-plow.



L. FONNESBECKF MOTOR BLOW. APPLICATlON FILED APR. 6. 1916.

Patnted July 10, 1917 4, SHEETS-SHEET I.

L. FONNESBECK.

MOTOR PLOW.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 1916.

Patented July 10, 1917.

FONNESBECK.

MOTOR PLOW. APPLICAHOH men APR. a. 1916.

Patented July 10, 1917.

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MOTOR PLOW. I APPLLCATION man APR. 6(191'6.

Patented July 10, 1917.

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LEON FONNESBECK, OF LOGAN, UTAH.

MOTOR-PLOW.

Application filed April 6, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEON FoNNEsBEoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Logan, in the county of Cache and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Plows,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to motor-propelled plows and has for its object the provision of an eflicient rotary plow which may be driven by a motor mounted upon the same frame with the plow and by which the ground will be effectually turned preliminary to planting. The invention seeks to provide in compact form a carrier by which the machine is supported and caused to travel over the ground, and a cylindrical body mounted on the carrier in rear of the supporting wheels and provided with a plurality of plows or other ground-engaging implements. The invention also seeks to provide novel means whereby the machine may be easily steered in its travel over the field, and also to provide novel means whereby the depth to which the implements will enter the ground may be regulated.

The several stated objects and such other objects as will incidentally appear from the following description are attained in an ap paratus of the character illustrated in the accompanying drawings and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the claims following the description.

In the drawings:

Figures 1 and 1 together constitute a plan view of the complete machine;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the rear portion of the machine;

Fig. 1 is a transverse section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

In putting my invention into practice, I employ a main carrier comprising an upper frame 1 and a lower frame 2 which are similar in form and constructed of any material which will possess the necessary strength without excessive weight. These frames 1 and 2 are connected at various points on all their sides by braces 3 which serve to impart Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1917.

Serial No. 89,415.

rigidity to the structure and also maintain the proper spaced relation of the two frames. Transverse beams 4 are secured to both frames and serve to divide the same into a front portion in which the carrier and driving elements are mounted, and a rear portion in which the plow is mounted. Longitudinal beams 5 are also secured between the front and rear sides of the frames and the said beans t at such points as may be found most convenient to support the various mechanisms. The carrier is supported upon the forward ground Wheels 6 which are secured to an axle 7 mounted in suitable bearings upon the lower frame 2, the said ground wheels 6 serving also as propelling or driving wheels whereby the machine is caused to travel over the field.

Steering wheels 8 are provided at the rear end of a tongue 9 which extends from the rear side of the frame 1. The said tongue is hinged to the frame 1, as shown at 10, and suitable braces 11 extend between the tongue and the frame, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1, said braces being also hinged to the frame so that the frame may be adjusted to assume an angular position relative to the tongue and thereby cause the plow shares to penetrate the ground to a greater or less depthl To the lower rear side of the frame 2, I secure a bracket 12, and a similar bracket 18 depends from the tongue 9, one or more coiled springs 14: being extended between the said brackets so as to normally hold the tongue and the frame in alinement and in a horizontal plane, as shown in Fig. 2. The main frame or carrier is adjusted relative to the tongue by means of a lever 15 which is secured at its front end to the beam 4 or some other fixed point of the main frame and is secured at an intermediate point of its length to a bracket or standard 16 rising from the rear side of the frame. The rear end of the lever 15 is equipped with a dog 17 which is adapted to engage a rack or notched bar 18 rising from the rear end of the tongue 9 so as to hold the parts in any position to which they may be adjusted.

Upon the rear end of the tongue 9, I secure a platform 19 carrying a seat 20 from which the end of the lever 15 may be conveniently reached. The rear end of the tongue is equipped with a coupling or head 21 which is pivotally secured upon the axle 22 on the ends of which the steering wheels 8 are mounted. It will be understood, of course, that the wheels 8 may be mounted upon spindles at the ends of the axle 22, and, consequently, have a pivotal movement relative to the tongue and the main frame so that the machine may readily accommodate itself to travel over ridges, rootsand deep hollows Near the ends of the axle 22, I pivotally attach links 23 which extend forwardly therefrom to a steering lever 24 disposed transversely of the tongue and fulcrumed intermediate its ends to the under side of the same. At one side of its fulcrum, this steering lever 24: carries a nut 25 swiveled thereto in .which is engaged the front end of a screw or worm 26. The rear end of this screw or worm is geared to the steering column 27 which is journaled in the platform 19 and rises from the same in advance of the seat 20 so that it may be easily reached by the driver thereon, a handvhefil 28, of any well-known construction,

being provided at the upper end of the steeringcolumn, as will be readily under stood. As the steering column or post is rotated toward one or the other side, the motion of the same will be transmitted directly to the screw or worm 26 and the nut 25 will, consequently, be caused to travel forwardly or rearwardly on the said worm which is held against longitudinal movement by the bracket or bearing 29 depending from the tongue. The forward or rearward movement of the nut 25 will, of course, cause the steering lever 24 to swing about its fulcrum andthis movement will be transmitted to the axle 22 which will be thereby caused to swing about its pivotal connection with the lower end of the coupling head 21 and, consequently, the steering wheels will be moved out of parallelism with the tongue and the machine caused to; travel to one or the other side.

, The power whereby to operate the ma chine is derived from an internal combustion engine which may be of any well known typev and is shown conventionally at 30. The engine is supported upon the. main frame at the frontside of the same and the driving shaft 31, leading from the engine, will be equipped with a fly-wheel 32 and: will be mounted in suitable bearings, upon the longitudinal beams 55. The outer extremity of the motor shaft 31 will be equipped with a beveled: pinion 33" meshing with a' beveled gear wheel 34 on the front end of a longitudinal shaft 35 which is mounted in suitable. hearings on the'mai-n frame. This shaft 35. has a sleeve 36 mounted: thereon and the said sleeve carries a pinion 37 at its rear end. The sleeveis constructed with a clutch member 38 adapted to engage a clutch member 39 fixed upon the shaft 35 and when these clutch members are in en gagement, the rotation of the shaft will be imparted directly to the sleeve and, conse quently, the pinion 37 will be rotated. The clutch members are moved out of engagement by a lever 40 which is fnlcrumed upon the main frame and has its lower forked end in engagement with a collar ll on the sleeve 36 so that when the lever is rocked, the sleeve will be moved longitudinally. T he lever is manipulated by means of a cable, link, or other form of connection 42 which extends to a lever 43 mounted upon the main lever 15 near the rear end of the same and provided with a latch cooperating with a segment or rack llfiXQd on the said main lever whereby to hold the lever 43 in a set position. The pinion 37 meshes with a gear wheel 45 which is rigid with one end of the plow-cylinder and. consequently, when the clutch members 38 and 39 are in engagement, the plow-cylinder will be rotated. A. spring 46 is coiled around the sleeve 36 between the collar 41 and the beam 4 or the bearing for the sleeve thereon. A pull on the connection 42 will cause the lever 40 to swing rear-wardly and disengage the clutch members but when the lever is released the spring 46 at once expands and throws the clutch members into engagement.

The motor shaft 31 is equipped between the fly-wheel 32 and the pinion 33 with a pinion 47 meshing with an idler pinion 48 which, in turn, meshes with a. gear wheel 40 which is loose upon a counter-shaft 50 mounted in suitable bearings upon the upper frame 1. This counter-shaft 50 is equipped at its ends with pinions 5-1 which mesh with gear wheels 52 secured rigidly to the inner sides of the ground wheels 6 so that the necessary rotation will be imparted to the ground wheels to propel the machine over the field. The gear wheel 49 has a clutch member 53 formed therewith and a clutch member 5i is mounted upon the countershaft so as to slide longitudinally thereon but constrained to rotate therewith and, consequently, when the clutch members 53 and 54k are in engagement, the counter-shaft will be rotated. The clutch lnemliicr 54 provided with an, elongated hub on which is a grooved collar 55 engaged by the torked end of an angle lever 56. suitably fulcrumed' upon the main frame. This angle lever is connected by a. cable, link or rod; 57 with a lever 58 mounted upon the tongue 9, near the rear end of the same, and cooperating in the usual manner with a segment 59 on the tongue to be held in. a set position. It will thus be readily seen that means are pro vided within convenient reach of the op e ator to throw into or out of operation, at will, the mechanism for driving the plow or mechanism for propelling the machine, and it will also be understood that thethrottle and spark controlling devices may be mounted upon the steering column in the manner now generally practised.

In order to strengthen the carriage or main frame and guard against buckling of the same, I provide the braces which extend upwardly from cross bars of the lower frame 2 in the vertical plane of the axle 7 and are connected at their upper ends by a head or ring 61. From the said'ring 61 guy-wires or braces 62 extend to the front and rear sides of the main frame and to the corners of the same, as shown most clearly in Fig. 1.

The plow or ground-engaging member comprises a cylindrical body or drum 63 mounted in the rear portion of the main frame and reinforced by internal annular bands 641 connected by spokes 65 with the central shaft or axle 66 mounted in suitable bearings on the frame 1. The gear wheel 15 is secured to those spokes 65 which are located at the inner end of the drum and the members of the several trains of gearing are so arranged and proportioned that the drum will rotate in the same direction as the ground wheels but at a higher speed. The plows 66 are preferably'of the same form as the ordinary turning plow new in common use but, of course, are much smaller and are provided in such numbers as to approximately cover the entire surface of the drum 63. It is to be understood, however, that other forms of implements may be used and that the points may be of any desired shape. The standard or shank of the ground-engaging member is formed or provided with a cap or attaching plate which is dished slightly to conform to the periphery of the drum 63 to which it is secured. The drum is provided with slots or openings 70 through its periphery to receive the attachin devices by which the plate is secured an these slots are so arranged that the plows will be in staggered relation around the drum and, consequently, in operation will thoroughly turn over and pulverize the soil.

The operation of the machine is thought to be evident from the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. When the engine is started, the several clutches are thrown into engagement so that the driving wheel 6 willbe rotated and the plows also set in motion. machine advances over the field, the several plow shares will take into the ground and turn over the surface of the same very rapidly and efliciently. By adjusting the lever As the" 15, the plows may be set closer to or farther from the surface of the earth so that the degree of penetration may be easily regulated. If the rear end of the lever be set at about the center of the standard 18, as shown in Fig. 3, the plows will be out of the ground and the machine will run level. If the lever be loweredthe rear end of the main frame will be lowered and the plows caused to enter and loosen the ground. If the lever be raised, the plows will be raised and they may be set at any desired height so as to avoid boulders or other obstructions when the machine is being driven over rough roads. Owing to the direction and speed of their rotation, when at work, the plows aid in propelling the machine and it will be understood that multiplespeed gearing may be employed if desired. The machine is kept to a straight line or caused to turn corners or steeraround trees or other obstructions by manipulating the steering column, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In an apparatus for the purpose set forth, the combination of a frame, an axle mounted on and extending across the frame near the front end thereof, a transverse cylinder journaled upon the frame near the rear end of the same, ground-engaging members on said cylinder, a gear wheel at one end of said cylinder, a motor on the frame in advance of the axle, a driving shaft extending from the motor transversely of the frame, a counter-shaft on the frame at one side of the driving shaft and above the axle, ground wheels on the axle, gearing connecting the ground wheels with the counter-shaft, gearing connecting the counter-shaft with the driving shaft, a shaft disposed longitudinally on the frame near one side thereof, a pinion on the rear end of said shaft meshing with the gear wheel on the cylinder, and gearing connecting the front end of said shaft with the driving shaft.

2. The combination of a carriage, a tongue extending rearwardly therefrom, a steering axle pivoted to the rear end of the tongue, a steering lever pivoted to the tongue in advance of the axle, connections between the ends of the lever and the ends of the axle, a nut swiveled to the said lever, a worm engaging said nut, and means on the tongue for rotating said worm.

3. The combination of a main frame, an axle mounted thereon near the front side thereof, a rotary plow mounted on the frame near the rear side of the same, upwardly converging braces rising from the sides of the frame in the plane of the axle, a connection between the upper ends of said braces and guys extending from the said connection to the front and rear of the frame.

4. The combination of a carriage, a tongue hinged to the carriage and extending rearwardly therefrom, a Wheeled sup port for the rear end of the tongue, means secured to the carriage and disposed above the tongue for varying the angular relation of the carriage to the tongue, brackets depending from the carriage and from the tongue, and a yieldable connection between said brackets.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LEON FONNESBECK. [L. 5.]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington; I). ,0. 

